Cheshire/Greater Manchester (Day 6)

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Yesterdays fears are realised. The A34 is heavy with traffic this monday morning. As I left this morning, I was still unsure of where I wanted to end up. I didnt know whether I would try and push on, and get as far north, finding somewhere comfortable to stay overnight, or if I would cycle towards Yorkshire, so by tomorrow I could have made it to some friends or family where I could then stop for my Glastonbury 'break'.

I lost quite a bit of time through Newcastle-under-Lyme. Upon entering it seemed tp be quite industrial. I was prevented from reaping the benefits of downhills, as there seemed to be a busy roundabout at the bottom of each hill. And then, obviously I had no steam to start the climb from being stationary. Add to that, the huge trucks passing by. They overtook at a snails pace, so it was very uncomfortable. Also a lack of signposts added to the delay. I did eventually find my way back onto the A34, but had easily lost 45mins/7 miles in the process.

Having not had breakfast, I was starving, and even without the detours so far, I was not making very good time. I stopped at a Little Chef, once I'd passed through most of the chaos of the Potteries. 15 miles or so had taken over 2 hours. I'd averaged a little over 6mph!!!

I got Gamon & Egg, with chips and peas and a cup of coffee. Sanity crept back in with each mouthful of food. It proved a well timed break. The thought of passing Stoke was a happy one. To me this does represent the imaginary halfway line between Scotland and England's southern coast, though I was quite aware that because of the countrys shape, and travelling from the south west I was likely more 2/3's of the way to bonnie Scotland. I got the maps out and made some decisions. Andy (my cousin) had offered meeting at somepoint, likely Merseyside / Lancashire. I called him up hoping this extended to picking me up, and taking me back to Leeds. Thankfully it did, so we aimed to meet later on after he'd finished work. Initial plans were North Manchester / Bolton.

The A50 wasn't much further up the A34. Keeping further complications to a minimum I'd stick to this for 20miles. It was nearly all countryside along the A50, which was a blessing. I'd had enough of urban riding for today. The weather was great, and I made good time, making up some of those lost mphs from this morning. Once I reached High Legh my maps usefulness dropped to about 5% of its potential. I would definitely recommend something better than a 9 year out of date road map. The next 15 miles would have to be guess work, as I couldn't really see the roads I wanted on the map.

Warburton Toll Bridge

The B5159 took me north over the M56. I'm surprised I made it to the Warburton Bridge with little deviation as this was the only marking on my map I could aim for. A short ride alongside the queued up stationary traffic on the A57 and then off up the B5212. I cross over the M62 between junctions 11 and 12.

Looking north from Warburton Toll Bridge

I soon join up with the A574 (Warrington Road). It takes me all the way up to Leigh, one of those typical 'grim' places up north that all of us are aware of. Andrew is on his way, and we agree to meet somewhere on the A579, just south of the A6.

We meet up in Atherton. Its an amazing feeling to know I wont have to ride again for another week. My body is quite shattered. No injuries sustained, just a tired body that will welcome the next 8-9 days.

Todays mileage: 54.5 miles.
On the road for 8 hours, with 6hrs35 riding time. (Approx 10:30-12:50 / 2:00-5:00 /5:15-6:30 = 8.2miles/hour) [Total mileage I've done = 414 / Total time on the bike = 43hrs15 / Average speed = 9.6mph]

The aim: 55 miles would get me well north of the M62, about Blackburn or Burnley. It was almost ideal for Gaz, who had intended to pick me up on tuesday, but as I'd done better than originally planned I was a day early. [Total Mileage I aimed to have done = 411]

Woulda-coulda-shoulda been: 49 miles. Racked up 5 miles more than needed today. 2-3 of them will have been encountered around Newcastle-under-Lyme. But, all in all, the route I took was, for the best part, the most direct available.

Villain(s) of the day: .

Hero(es) of the day: .

Cost: £9.84 (Little Chef Gamon Steak w/ coffee = £9.84). Another fairly cheap day but I did have to pay for accomodation. I also finished the last of my rations, so I'd have to buy all my food tomorrow [Total cost of ride to date = £90.23]